Tea Party
by Princess Moonheart
Summary: A little girl is waiting for a very special friend one night in New York City.


The six year old child stared sadly out the newly fixed window, her rosy face only centimeters from the glass. She sighed in a regret one would expect from someone older, and not of a little pigtailed girl in blue footie pajamas. She drew on the window with her finger.

"I shouldn't have let him leave..."

She shook her head slowly. She was used to this, people whom she would grow fond of leaving later, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She stood up straight and huffed, trying to get rid of the rumbling pang of disappointment that was rumbling in her stomach. She risked a lot for today. She snuck two microwaved pizzas and some iced oatmeal cookies from the kitchen, working super hard to hide it from her dad, pretended to go to sleep so her dad wouldn't expect anything, and even drew a present for him. So it was natural for the disappointment to linger on, much to her annoyance. She made angry faces at the window, before breathing out in a forlorn sadness.

"I guess I should go to bed..."

She dragged her little feet towards her bed, looked back at the window, and sighed sadly, before walking to the bed. She clambered up the side of the bed, and crawled up to her pillow to move the covers so she could snuggle in. She didn't even get under.

*Tap* *tap*

She looked to the window and gasped loudly, a huge smile spreading across her face. She slid down her bed and scurried to the tapping window, before opening it.

"Hey. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

A surprised noise came from the blue masked turtle as the girl's body weight was upon him, fortunately he quickly balanced himself before they both fell out the window. He patted the girl's back gently and smirked down at the child cuddling his shell in glee.

"You came back!"

He rolled his eyes good naturally and chuckled, before setting her on the floor, getting out from the outside, and into the room.

"I promised I would." He said, closing the window behind him.

The girl giggled, walking toward the little table, before sitting on one of the large pillows that was surrounding it.

"Did you bring the tea?"

The turtle set his backpack to the side of the table, shaking his head.

"I couldn't. My dad was watching the stuff like a hawk."

"Awww..."

"But I got hot chocolate instead."

"Yay!"

"Shhh! Your dad will hear!"

Despite the urgency of the situation, Leonardo couldn't help but grin at the girl. She smiled back at him sheepishly, giggling lightly.

"Sorry."

He nodded in exknowlegement, setting the canister onto the table.

"So, did you get the food?"

The young girl tilted her head, and stared at the turtle with large confused eyes. It wasn't until the turtle pretend to bite into something when her eyes brightened up in realization.

"Oh!"

She ignored the snickering turtle as she scurried away to under her bed. She pulled out three plates.

"Sorry!"

She scurried to the table, and set the plate of cookies onto it.

"Iced oatmeal. Good choice."

She looked back and grinned, before running back to the other plates. She raised up a plate and grinned hopefully.

"Look! I even got pizza!"

"You're awesome, you know that?"

She giggled, carrying the two plates carefully to the table.

"Your snack, is serve!"

"Thank you very much."

At first, the snack was silent, with the two chewing in eager semi-silence the only hint of noise. But when one thing( like Leo getting cookie crumbs on his face) comes to another ( a disgusting face contest) , it's natural to suddenly have plenty to talk about.

"And then he slipped! And then he flipped ALL away around, and made a sound that sounded like a scared chicken!"

"Oh no! Your poor dad!"

The turtle couldn't help but laugh gleefully, he was having a hard time of being quiet, despite his situation. Besides, apparently, her dad could sleep through an earthquake and an alien invasion if tired enough. His pizza was already gone, much to his sadness, and he managed to stop laughing enough to take sips of his hot chocolate.

"Mr. Turtle?"

He looked at the girl, and at the sight of her solemn face, he set the tea cup down in concern.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

She shook her head rapidly, wide eyed and with an air of skittish caution.

"Nothing! I just... Wanted to ask you something."

He gently smiled, hoping it would ease the nerves of the child, and took a cookie.

"Alright, shoot."

"Why'd you come back?"

Leo set the cookie back down on his plate and gave the girl a questioning look. He folded his arms.

"Why wouldn't I come back?"

"Well, our last tea party wasn't the best in the whole wide world... I was a little mean to you."

He bitterly smirked at the thought of the first meeting. To say that the first meeting was stiff and horrifying, was an understatement. In all honesty, if he had to determine whether or not to come back by that meeting well... Pizza wouldn't have been eaten. He chuckled halfly in amusement, and the other half in bitter memory, before nodding.

"Yea I'll admit, you were a bit pushy... But all that's in the past, and this tea party isn't all that bad."

He picked up the cookie, and bit into it, smiling happily. The cookies weren't as good as pizza, but it's becoming a close second.

"Really?"

He nodded, swallowing as he wiping his mouth with a napkin he supplied in his pack.

"Really. But what made you ask in the first place?"

He rested his chin on his fist and made his face look calm and accepting. The young girl squirmed under kind gaze however, and looked away, before sighing.

"Well..."

She rubbed behind her neck uncomfortably, and looked down at her little plastic plate.

"Not many people want to play with me."

Picking up her cookie, she played with it nervously.

"No body likes me at all, ever since we moved here, daddy and me."

She looked up in the turtle's face, and dropped the cookie back on the plate.

"I love daddy, but it get really lonely sometimes, with no body else around. I try really hard to be really nice to people, but no matter what I do, they don't want anything to do with me."

The turtle tilted his head in soft question.

"Why doesn't anyone want to play with you?"

She shrugs in that dramatic way all little children do when they're asked a why question and huffed in annoyance.

"Because I'm different."

"Different?"

Leo raised an 'eyebrow',

" How are you different from all the other kids in this city?"

"Because I'm not born in this city. And they know it."

"How do they know it?"

"My voice is different from them, and I don't know all the stuff they know, and... And they look at me funny."

It didn't take a genius for the turtle to understand exactly what the small child was saying, and he had to hold back a frown.

"Everyone is different. Shell, I'm different from you! I mean look at me!"

The girl giggled lightly, before setting a stubborn look on her face.

"I like you like that."

He chuckled, and bowed, still in his seat.

"Why thank you."

"And to answer you question,"

She gave him a slight look of shock. She figured that her pervious was one of those questions adults never want to answer. He shrugged lightly before taking another sip of his hot chocolate.

"It because I kept a promise to you that I would come. And I respect you enough to keep my promise to you, no matter how I feel about you. The other kids just don't have the maturity we both have."

"I'm mature!?"

Her eyes got big in extreme awe at the thought of her being 'mature'. Leo laughed at the shocked look on her face and smiled.

"Well, you didn't freak out when you saw me, that's pretty mature compared to most people."

"Why would I be scared of you? You don't look scary."

"Oh, no reason."

Leo finished his up of hot chocolate, and watched the young girl finish up her own. Setting the cup on the table, she stretched her body and attempted to hide a yawn. An attempt that failed miserably.

"Uh oh, sounds like bedtime."

"Awww, not yet!"

The panicked look on her face startled Leo for a moment, but he controlled his face and reached over to the girl. He put a green finger under her chin, lifting it gently, before giving the girl a reassuring grin.

"Hey don't worry! I'll be back."

"Promise?"

She held out her pinkie before the turtle, large hopeful eyes shining at him. He nodded, taking the tiny pinkie finger in his own.

"Pinky promise."

"... Alright."

Her face calmed down tremendously, much to Leo's relief. She scrambled off the chair, just as Leo got up, walking toward her. But just as she started to walk to the bed, her eyes widened in realization.

"Wait! Your present!"

"What?"

The little girl scurried to a little brown book shelf, sitting just barely out of the door's reach, and bend low to reach under it. With all the carefulness the little girl could muster, she slowly dragged a folded sheet our paper out from hiding, before running back to the turtle with the picture in hand.

"Here."

She held out the paper to the turtle, which he took in a slight shock. He unfolded it, and his eyes widened greatly

"This is really for me?"

"Ah huh. And I made it all by myself! I even made a note for you on it, see?"

"To Mr. Turtle From Lavi."

"I would of used Lavila, but I like Lavi better."

He looked from the picture, to the girl, to the picture again. It was a pretty simple, readable drawing of the both of them in a field at night behind fireworks. It was slightly messy as well as a bit smudged, and it certainly wasn't a Mona Lisa. He smirked, and looked at the girl who now had a name. This picture wasn't expert work, but to the turtle, it was probably the most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his fifth-teen years of living.

"It's great, Lavi! One of the best gifts I've ever gotten!"

He scooped her up and pressed his cheek lovingly to the first girl whom ever gave him a gift.

"Yay!"

She squealed happily and hugged his neck tightly in relief. The turtle put her down, and tapped her nose with his finger.

"Now, time to sleep."

She nodded, and yawned in spite of herself.

"Okay."

The girl scurried to the bed, with the turtle following leisurely behind. Moving the covers out the way, the turtle help the girl up the bed, and tucked her in. She waved sleepily at the turtle.

"Good night, Mr. Turtle."

He touched her forehead with his hand, and smiled.

"Night, Lavi."

Lavi turned towards the window and the turtle, as he quietly walked toward the clear exit. She cuddled into the bed and sighed, closing her eyes. The turtle opened the window, and just as he had half his body out of the window, he looked back at the drowsy girl, and smiled.

"Oh, and Lavi?"

The young girl raised her head up slightly, looking at the turtle with a sleepy smile.

"Yeah, Mr. Turtle?"

"Call me, Leo."

And with that, the window was closed, as if it had never been touched.


End file.
